FAMILIES in Lethbridge will soon have a space again for their toddlers to play and interact with each other with the town\u2019s playgroup set to be revived after a three-year absence.<\/p>\n
The return is being coordinated by parents associated with the group prior to pause during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Caitlin Warnock is one of two people leading the revival and said it\u2019s important the town has a space for parents and young children again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a growing community in Lethbridge,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s lots of people moving out to the area who don\u2019t have established friendships so it\u2019s a good way to meet other people with kids of similar ages.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d gone for about a year-and-a-half with my daughter Beatrice. We\u2019d go every week. She actually came to me recently and said she\u2019d made a friend called Meadow and I said she\u2019d met her at playgroup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know Sally [Hargans, the other coordinator] feels very passionately about giving other women the experiences she had as a new mum making lifelong friends through her kids as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following a community meeting last month, Lethbridge Playgroup\u2019s weekly sessions return today, and will run each Friday at 10am.<\/p>\n
Ms Warnock said now that both herself and Ms Hargans no longer utilise Playgroup as parents, they\u2019re keen to find people willing to take on a leadership role once they get sessions reestablished.<\/p>\n
The original Lethbridge Playgroup was established by Ms Warnock\u2019s mother-in-law with the help of Playgroup Victoria.<\/p>\n
With space at the recreation reserve refurbished during the break, Ms Warnock said she\u2019ll be running things a little differently to how they were done before.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not starting from scratch because it\u2019s an established playgroup,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019ve found since three-year old kinders gave increased their hours is playgroups are getting younger cohorts of one and two-year-olds.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, we won\u2019t be reestablishing a crafts service which would\u2019ve been more for that older age. We\u2019ll have a couple of songs, and unstructured play with kids and parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can provide their service but the main thing is we need people to commit to turning up.\u201d<\/p>\n
To participate in Lethbridge Playgroup or express interest in coordinating, visit the Lethbridge (Australia) Playgroup Families Facebook page or call Ms Warnock on 0414 182 803.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FAMILIES in Lethbridge will soon have a space again for their toddlers to play and interact with each other with the town\u2019s playgroup set to be revived after a three-year absence. The return is being coordinated by parents associated with the group prior to pause during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caitlin Warnock is one of two […]<\/p>\n